Jedi Academy (15/20$)
I thought he would be bigger
Most Starwars games are bad. Or they offer a completely different experience than what the series is about. Good vs Evil with wizards that have laser swords capable of cutting flesh like butter. Star Wars Rouge squadron is a good game but Starwars is not about being a pilot. Starwars galactic conquest is a good game, but Star Wars is not about commanding the battle, rather fighting in it. That is why games like Battlefront, Force Unleashed, and Jedi Fallen Order all shine above the other games in the property. These games put the player in the shoes of the characters/situations they fell in love with and they are praised for it. Yet, no game has nailed the feeling of being a jedi more so than Jedi Academy series.
Originally released in 2003, the remaster for Nintendo Switch launched this year. Only it is not a remaster. It is a port of the PC version, but the gameplay is still so smooth. The lightsabers are the best part of this game and the game brings the sabers to the forefront of combat. Weaker enemies fall in a single swing collapsing to the ground while their arms fly through the air. Stronger enemies engage you in fierce duels where each side can only weather several blows before being cut down. There are several fighting styles with their own saber types and stances, creating an elaborate ecosystem of moves that counter one another. Truly good players will be able to switch on the fly and take down their enemies with ease. The story serves a serviceable backdrop for slicing and dicing, but occasionally serves up memorable missions such as a level based around not being able to touch the ground or being chased by a Rancor.
The problem is that most missions boil down to mindless hacking and slashing. There are some classic movie locations, as well as appearances from fan favorite characters. But you will spend the majority of your time taking out the same storm troopers and sith apprentices. The game is short, and the story/gameplay does not change regardless of your choices outside of simple good or bad endings. Couple this with a autosave feature and generally buggy game, and you are left with a game that is a good lightsaber dueling game, but a lukewarm overall game.
Jedi Academy features an incredibly active online community that bolsters it’s forgettable story. If you go on the PC version of this game and download a few mods,, the game opens up to several new dimensions of play. Modders have put movie locations and assets into the game. This includes new models, new force powers, and new saber styles. There is no better lightsaber experience, even with poor graphics, it beats out modern games like Fallen Order or Battlefront 2. Yet, the online is brutal because everyone left playing is basically a real life jedi by this point, and will mercilessly slaughter you. Jedi Academy makes you want to take it’s great lightsaber combat and attach it to a modern online system, not a 14 hour long story. A co-op mode with friends would be amazing and outclass nearly every other melee game on the market, but for now it remains a good for jedi fans and nostalgia chasers (15/20$).
